


Secret Santa

by dawnjohnson43



Series: Beyblade: Metal Kingdom [10]
Category: Metal Fight Beyblade | Beyblade Metal Saga
Genre: Belated Christmas, Christmas Party, Gen, Gift Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28605108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dawnjohnson43/pseuds/dawnjohnson43
Summary: What it says in the title
Series: Beyblade: Metal Kingdom [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809001
Kudos: 5





	Secret Santa

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this one story takes place before what actually happens in the main story. It’s about three years before the main story. So, it’s the same cast except a lot of them haven’t met yet. But the ages and cast goes as this:
> 
> Gingka-14  
> Ryuga-15  
> Tsubasa-15  
> Hikaru-14  
> Sophie-15  
> Wales-15  
> Yuu-8  
> Kenta-9  
> Masamune (briefly)-12

“So, you haven’t spoken to Ryuga since he came home?”

Gingka looked up from his book. He had spent the whole morning reading the  _ Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde  _ even though he was supposed to be talking with Masamaune. And although Gingka loved his best friend dearly, he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Thankfully, Masamune sensed this and handled the conversation. But this question had thrown the red haired teen for a loop.

It’s not like he didn’t know that Ryuga was back in town, he did know, he just wasn’t sure if he should see him again. With all the stuff that happened with Hyoma, Gingka would have loved not to see another person who could be the object of his affections. Someone who he wasn’t close to. Someone who wasn’t strong or protective over him. Someone who wouldn’t use his own weakness against. Someone who wouldn’t lie or attack him. Someone who--

_ Stop it, Gingka! Ryuga is  _ **_nothing_ ** _ like Hyoma. _

“No, I haven’t spoken to Ryuga since he came back.” Gingka finally answered back.

“Huh?” This seemed to shock him. “B-but you're like  _ best friends _ . You’re  _ supposed  _ to talk to each other. You’re closer to him than to me.” Gingka winced as Masamune’s voice became more shrill and scratchy over the phone receiver.

_ Maybe I should have video called him.  _

“Are you two in a fight or something?”

“What?! No. We just haven’t talked.” Gingka blew his bangs out of his eyes. “Ryuga and I go through this sometimes.”

“No, you don’t,” Masamune argued. “You  _ always  _ talk. Is this about Hyoma?”

Gingka winced as he heard  _ that _ name. He hated his name so much; it was surprising that four months ago, he would've swooned over it. But now all Gingka could feel was anger and disgust at hearing the first syllable. And he also felt dirty after remembering everything that Hyoma did to him. If Ryuga was there when  _ it  _ happened… Gingka would be okay.

_ But can I really blame him? _

“ Masamune,” Gingka whispered slowly. “I don’t want to talk about him. Not today.”

“Okay,” Gingka could practically  _ hear  _ Masamune’s frown across the phone. “Well, I gotta go anyways, it’s time for dinner. I’ll call you later. Bye!” The phone clicked as the call ended.

Removing the device from his ear, Gingka slumped further into his chair. It was almost Christmastime, and even though it was his favorite holiday, Gingka was  _ not  _ looking forward to it. He just wanted to relax and heal. He didn’t want to spend time looking at lights or drinking hot cocoa or telling stories by the fireplace. He wanted to stay home.

Unfortunately, the Universe had other plans.

The doorbell rang. Gingka had a bad feeling in his something that whoever was behind that door would become the bane of his existence. Still, he made his way through the winding corridors of his home (mansion) until he reached the big wooden doors at the entrance. He motioned his guards to open the door, and immediately gagged at the sight. Sophie Beauregard, Princess of France and Gingka’s oldest female friend, stood in all of her glory. Despite it being less than 38 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius), Sophie was still dressed in one of her many ball gowns--with hair and makeup to match.

“Gingka, darling, how are you?” Her French accent added a bit of pretentiousness to Japanese. “Are you busy on Monday?”

“No.” Ginkga knew that Monday was Christmas Day. “Why?”

She brandished a pink envelope outlined in gold. “I’m throwing a Secret Santa party. And you’re invited.”

Gingka took one look at the invitation before shoving it away. “I wasn’t planning on doing anything for Christmas.”

“Well, yes, I know that, darling. You’re obviously depressed,” Sophie tossed back her curls. “But I invited Ryuga, and… I thought that you two could make up.”

_ Does everyone think that we’re fighting or something?  _ Gingka shook his head once again.

“Oh, come on! It’s a small group of people. It’ll just be me, you, Wales, Ryuga, Tsubasa, Hikaru, Kenta, and Yuu. Nothing too big. I would’ve invited Yuki but he’s still in Russia, and that would make our numbers odd. And then I would have had to invite someone else.”

“Still a no.”

“B-but your assignment is Kenta. You just have to get him a small gift. You don’t even have to show up. Just give me the gift and I’ll put it under the tree.”

“Then, what is the point of me getting a gift if I don’t get to see him open it?”

“I don’t know!” Sophie threw her hands up in frustration. “I just--I want to help Gingka. You haven't been the same since Ryuga left, and then you dated that scumbag. I want the old Gingka back, the one who would always spend Christmas with me. It’s been...quiet...without you.” She finished her speech by looking at her impractical crystal heels.

Gingka sighed as he felt his frown disappear. He  _ did  _ miss spending time with Sophie and Wales, and their extravagant holiday parties. And he probably should talk to Ryuga about everything that happened. Not to mention, Sophie was practically begging him to come, and she never begs. Who was Gingka to refuse?

“Fine,” he reluctantly murmured. “I’ll go to the party and get Kenta a present. I miss spending time with you too.”

The blonde foreigner jumped up. “Yay! Okay, so the theme is ugly sweaters. Here’s yours, Hikaru made it, and you  _ have  _ to wear it! She’ll kill me if you don’t. And you can bring cookies or anything else if you want. Ah! I can’t wait.” She bounced down the steps and to her car.

Gingka held up the invitation and sweater. The feeling of anxiety settled deep into his chest that it started to suffocate him. Brushing it off, Gingka closed the doors and made his way back to his bedroom. Tomorrow, he would go shopping for a christmas present and bake cookies for the party. But today, today, Gingka would shut his curtains, climb under his covers, and sleep for twelve hours.

\--------------

Gingka was awoken by one of his housekeepers. Madame Gummi had pulled the redhead from his slumber in a way that reminded him of his late mother. She gently shook his shoulder before softly calling his name. The prepubescent teen drowsily grabbed her hand and followed her into his ensuite bathroom.

“Come on, Gingka, your father needs you to wash up before dinner.”

“My father?” Gingka frowned as he stopped in front of the mirror.

He and his dad hadn’t eaten dinner together since Gingka turned seven years old. In fact, the day after was when his mother died. And since then King Ryo had only spent time at the castle if work had permitted it. And work  _ never  _ did. It was one of the many reasons Gingka spent most of his life either at Ryuga’s or Tsubasa’s house. There was no point in staying in a castle with no family. 

Gingka made his way over to the shower, stripping his clothes as he went. The warm water provided only temporary comfort and relaxation to Gingka’s overly tense body. After his shower, Gingka pulled on the dress clothes that Madame Gummi had left him. It was a red and black striped button down, black slacks, and black loafers with red socks.

_ Too much red. Ryuga would like it. _

Brushing that thought aside, Gingka finally made his way out of his room. He was escorted to the family dining room by two members of the royal guard. The room had been refurbished with a new table with matching chairs, paintings, and carpet. It smelled like disinfectant and his father’s cigarette smoke. No longer could Gingka see any remnants of his mother. It had been six years since her death, but Gingka still thought that his father had moved on too quickly. 

“Ginka,” Ryo barely looked up from the newspaper he was reading. “How are you?”

“I’m doing fine, sir.” One thing that Gingka and Ryuga had in common was their very formal relationships with their fathers. But it wasn’t always this way.

“I haven’t seen Hyoma over here in a while. Something happened between you two?”

Gingka scowls but quickly covers it up when his father glances at him. “We had a falling out, that’s all.” Gingka wasn’t in the mood for his father to suddenly act as if he cares about what went on in Gingka’s life. He hadn't before, so why should he now?

“You plan on doing anything for Christmas?”

“Sophie invited me over for a Christmas celebration with friends.” He omitted calling her ‘princess’ as that title meant nothing to him. Even though he would have never met her if it wasn’t for the title.

“Who’s going to be there?” Ryo asked as the servants started placing down their plates. 

Their dinner started as always with caesar salad and mushroom stew. His father was poured a cup of sparkling champagne while Gingka was served sparkling water; both were imported from France. The prince drizzled his salad with vinegar before answering.

“Ryuga, Kenta, Tsubasa, Yuu, Hikaru, and Wales. Just the usuals.” 

Ryo sipped his wine thoughtfully. “Speaking of Ryuga--.”

“No.” Gingka slammed his hand down harshly. First, it was Masamune, then Sophie, and now even his  _ father  _ was questioning him about Ryuga. It was so ridiculous that Gingka almost began to laugh, albeit humorously. “We’re  _ not  _ talking about him, especially you.”

Ryo’s eyes had darkened in anger. “Now, Gingka, is that really a way you should be speaking to your father?”

“You don’t spend enough time around here to act like you  _ are  _ my father.” Gingka replied bitterly. He was met with a slap across his face so hard that he turned away. The servants quickly removed the plates of salad and bowls of soup, returning with plates of the main meal.

Gingka wiped blood from his lip. “You know at least when Hyoma hit me, it wasn’t out of anger and cowardice.” He held his hand up to stop a servant from placing down his plate. “I want it delivered to my room. I’m not eating dinner with my  _ bastardized  _ father.” He slipped out of the room before anyone could respond.

On his way back to his room, Gingka had decided to take the long way. Secretly, he made his way down into the dungeon by the back staircase. Once at the entrance, Gingka turned left, and crawled through a tunnel. He shoved open the metal grate, and crawled out into the rose garden. The moon shone down from above, bringing a foreign sense of peace. The prince made his way through the underbrush before finding his mother’s grave. 

It was covered in vines, dirt, snow, and what looked like bird poop. Rolling his eyes in disgust, Gingka made his way to the gardening shack. Obtaining all the materials he needed, Gingka cleaned the gravesite. He even made sure to place new soil and sow a few seeds. Then, he sat down in front of the grave. Snow had begun to fall but Gingka didn't mind.

“Hey, mom. Can we talk?”

When Gingka woke up, the place grounds were covered in snow, but he was safely tucked in his bed. The curtains were closed and candles were lit. He was dressed in his pyjamas, and the distinct smell of freshly made pancakes wafted to his nose.

It was Christmas Eve.

\--------------

Gingka waited for his chauffeur to open his door before stepping out into the cold air. In one hand, he held Kenta’s gift while in the other he held a batch of cookies. He had texted Sophie about the cookies while going shopping. It wasn’t that difficult for him to find a gift for Kenta, and Gingka was excited to see his face. Turning towards his chauffeur, Gingka slipped on the duffel bag.

“Thank you, Rodrigo. I won’t be needing to be picked up since I will be staying the night. But I will see you tomorrow morning.” His driver nodded and quickly drove away.

Gingka climbed the steps, and rang the doorbell. He had no idea what to expect from the party, he just hoped to have fun. Luckily, his father’s slap hadn’t bruised, and he could just lie about the split lip.

Unfortunately, instead of Sophie opening the door, it was the one person he had been avoiding for five months now. It was Ryuga.

“Hey,” Gingka said breathlessly. “How’ve you been? You look good.” 

Good? Ryuga looked  _ great _ . He had grown at least three inches since they had last seen each other, and his face had grown more mature. His white hair now sported a splash of red that looked like blood against snow. And his eyes, Gingka could die happily caught in that gaze. Ryuga wordlessly moved backwards to let Gingka into the house. He raised one of his hands to brush away Gingka’s bangs.

“Trying a new look?” He assumed with a slight smile. Gingka just nodded in response. 

Their eyes met in an intense gaze. There was a silent conversation passing between them. They knew that they needed to talk, and neither of them could avoid the other for forever. Gingka bit his lip as he thought of a way to start a conversation. Never in a million years did the other believe that their lifelong friendship would come to this. Silence shared between them was usually comforting, but this was suffocating. And neither knew how to break it.

“Gingka!” Sophie made her way down the stairs behind Ryuga. “You made it! Also, you guys are standing underneath mistletoe.” Gingka and Ryuga immediately separated from each other. “I’m kidding, kidding! It’s just a bough of holly.” the princess reached up to remove it. “We were waiting for you before we would start the gift exchange. Come on now.” She gestured for the two boys to follow her into the living room.

Gingka placed the gift under the tree and the cookies on the table. They had barely sat there for a minute before Kenta and Yuu had already stolen half of them. But Sophie’s rueful glare forced them to place a few back. 

Gingka sat down on the floor next to Hikaru. On the couch, sat Sophie and Wales. Across from them, sat Ryuga and Kenta in a loveseat. Behind Gingka, sat Yuu on Tsubasa’s lap.

“Now, that we’re all here, we can finally start the gift exchange!” Sophie clapped her hands gleefully. “Who wants to go first?”

“Me! Me! I do! I do!” Yuu stood up, raising his hand.

“Cookie monsters don’t get to open their gifts first,” Sophie lectured. “Tsubasa is opening his first.”

“You just hate me.”

Sophie turned away from him with a smug smile. “I won’t deny that.” She passed Tsubasa’s gift along.

Tsubasa’s gift was wrapped in purple wrapping paper with golden eagles printed on it. He slowly peeled the paper off, much to everyone’s impatience. After about two months, where Yuu had started begging for him to finish up, Tsubasa finally revealed his present. It was a handmade quilted blanket. He unfolded it (on top of Yuu) to show off its design of purple eagle soaring during a sunset.

“Well, whoever got you that gift knows that you're obsessed with eagles,” Ryuga teased.

“And what about it, dragon boy?” Tsubasa teased back. “I really like this though. It clearly took this person a lot of time to make.”

“I mean,” Hikaru piped up from next to Gingka. “You’d be surprised by how quickly I can knit a quilt.”

“Wait, you made this?” Tsubasa shot her a look of surprise and she nodded. 

“It wasn't that hard,” she sheepishly admitted. “I had  _ a lot _ of free time.”

“A lot, huh?” Yuu muttered under his breath. He was promptly shoved off of his guardian’s lap so that Tsubasa could quickly wrap Hikaru into a hug. The brown skinned female let out a squeal of surprise before melting into his arms. (Yuu and Gingka both shared disgusted looks).

Tsubasa separated from the hug, sat back down, and allowed Yuu back into his seat. “Thanks so much.”

“No problem.” Hikaru blushed profusely. Sophie sent her a knowing look before reaching under the tree.

“Okay next up we have…” she picked up a black rectangular box. “Oh,  _ moi _ ! I wonder what it is.” Sophie tore through the packaging and lifted out what seemed like a black folder. Opening it, she let out a short scream of delight.

“ _ Oh mon dieu _ ! I got a constellation!” Sophie jumped up in excitement. “It says that I’m the owner of Cassiopeia. Who did this? Wales, was this you?”

Her boyfriend shook his head. “You weren’t my target.”

“Tsubasa was your Secret Sa--.” Yuu was promptly silenced by hand across his mouth. But before he could complain, he was suddenly sandwiched in a hug shared by Sophie and Tsubasa. “I can’t breathe.”

The French princess thanked the teenager graciously in French, laying kisses where she could reach, before Wales was able to pull her off. Tsubasa embarrassingly thanked him, and the Secret Santa gift exchange continued. Sophie gifted Ryuga (and by extension, Kenta) his very first cat. She was only a few months old and was a white and orange Norwegian Forest cat. Ryuga quickly became accustomed to her.

Yuu ended up giving Hikaru a birthstone necklace. It was of a pink diamond that was worth over $1.2 million dollars. (He ended up winning it in an illegal bet). Gingka bought Kenta his very  _ first  _ beyblade, much to Ryuga’s annoyance. Kenta gifted Wales his first Faberge egg, which led to an endless collection in many years to come. ANd then it finally came down to Gingka and Yuu.

“Okay, Gingky,” Sophie said as she passed his gift down. “Let’s see what you got for Christmas.”

Gingka pulled apart the gold ribbon, and lifted up the top of the box. In it, was a hand-knit blue headband with a golden pegasus stitched on it. He gasped as he lifted it up and out of the box. Wales nudged him with his foot.

“That’s the most practical gift here, bud.”

“How exactly is this practical?” Gingka replied while whacking his thigh.

“Why don’t you put it on?” Wales suggested as shouts of encouragement came eform the group. Sighing, the Prince of Japan pulled the headband over his head before moving it up to his forehead. It was only a few centimeters bigger than originally thought, but it fit him perfectly. 

Looking up, Gingka shot a confused glance around the room as everyone looked at him. His friends all shared the same look of wonder, curiosity, and amusement. Gingka was starting to feel self-conscious from their stares.

“Is something wrong?”

Hikaru hesitantly reached towards him. “There’s our Gingka.” She sounded grateful.

“What?”

“We missed seeing your face, dumbass.” Wales explained for him. “Ever since you grew out your bangs, we weren't allowed to see anything besides your mouth. Whoever got you this is not only a genius, but they probably missed you the most.”

_ Missed me the most? _ Gingka puzzedly looked around the room, again, before meeting eyes with his childhood friend. “Ryuga?”

The crime lord heir shrugged his shoulders. “So what? I  _ did  _ miss seeing your face, but so did everyone else. And I’ve been meaning to get you a headband since the fifth grade. You look terrible with bangs.”

“You just had to ruin the moment, huh?!” Gingka shouted as he smacked his face with a pillow.

Ryuga merely pushed him away. “I’m not an emotional person.”

“Clearly,” Gingka sat back down with a huff. “Well, thanks anyways, asshole.” Ryuge shot him a playful smirk, and Gingka could feel his heart start to flutter.  _ Well, shit. I never realized how hot he looked when he made that face. WAIT! _

“My turn!” Yuu shot up from Tsubasa’s lap. “Give my gift, pleaseeeeee!”

“Ugh, here,” Sophie tossed him a lime green gift box. The blonde wasted no time in pulling the paper covering from the box. In it, was a glass case, which held a light green beyblade.

“A beyblade!”

“No!” Tsubasa reached for it but Yuu jumped out of his reach.

“Yes! You can’t take away my gifts, you said so yourself. Both Kenchi and I have our own beyblades and you guys can’t do anything about it!”

“Shit.”

“Whoever got me this gift is my favorite person,  _ ever _ ! No contest! Kenchi, let’s go outside and practice.” Without waiting for a response, Yuu grabbed Kenta’s hand and dragged him outside. 

“Alright, so who got him the beyblade?” Tsubasa quickly turned to his friends.

Wales raised his hand, smugly. “Guilty as charged, amigo.” Tsubasa flipped him the bird before making his way outside. Hikaru, Sophie, and Wales followed after him as well, leaving Gingka and Ryuga in the living room.

Working up the courage, Gingka got up to sit next to Ryuga. His new cat quickly took a liking to Gingka, jumping onto his lap as well. The kitten made her way up Gingka’s body by climbing up his sweater. She had almost made it to his face when Gingka suddenly let out a loud sneeze. The kitten tumbled down backwards. She shook it off and started rubbing her head against Gingka’s knee.

“Are you allergic to my cat?” Ryuga took notice of Gingka slightly pushing the cat away while rubbing his eyes.

“You  _ know  _ that I’m allergic to cats!” Gingka shot him a look which earned a laugh. Ryuga picked up the cat, placing her back in her box. The two teens waited until she finally relaxed before turning to each other again.

“Sorry that I never visited you when I came back.” Ryuga finally apologized. “That wasn’t cool of me to do. It’s not like I was mad at you or anything. It’s just that I thought you hated me because of the whole Hyoma thing--.”

“I don’t hate you!” Gingka interjected. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you the whole time, but I thought  _ you  _ hated  _ me _ . Even Masamune was convinced that I must’ve done something to anger you.”

“Oh,” Ryuga finally slumped down. Both teens could finally feel muscles relaxing as the air turned more friendly. “Are you okay though?”

“What do you mean?” 

Ryuga placed a finger against Gingka’s bottom lip, indicating he saw the cut. “Your dad hit you again, didn’t he?”

“At least it wasn't Hyoma, right?” Gingka laughed bitterly. “Maybe then I would have been able to fight back, I’m still terrified of my dad. But, yeah, I’m okay.”

Ryuga looked at him with an unreadable expression. Then, he pulled Gingka into a tight hug. The Prince sat there for a moment before melting into his arms. There was an unspoken need for physical comfort between them. And even though Gingka wanted to be strong, he had missed his friend dearly. Ryuga pressed a soft kiss to his hairline.

“Thanks for the headband,” Gingka whispered as he silently cried.

“Thank you for not hating me.” Ryuga pulled away from the hug to see Gingka wiping his eyes. “Come on, we should go watch the fireworks with the others.” He stood up, took Gingka’s hand, and led him outside.

\----------

Gingka brought him into a searing kiss. Heat traveled from Ryuga’s mouth into Gingka’s body. The redheaded teen whimpered as his body was engulfed in the heat of Ryuga. The snow didn’t matter, the party inside didn’t matter, Madoka’s song didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered to Gingka was Ryuga. That’s all he needed.

Reluctantly, they pulled away to breathe before going back in again. Despite only having kissed Ryuga once, Gingka felt like he has been doing it forever. And he was happy. He was happy that Ryuga was back, in his arms, again. Gingka no longer cared about anything else except for kissing Ryuga. 

When they pulled away for the second time, they leaned into each other. Ryuga placed butterfly kisses onto Gingka’s neck as they held each other. Madoka had gone back inside to give them privacy. No one noticed that they were here. Gingka and Ryuga were in their own winter wonderland. They were going to be okay.

_ Although it's been said many times, many ways _

_ Merry Christmas to you  _

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The end featured a snippet of a future chapter. I will try to update the story this weekend but there’s a lot going on, so no promises. I can say that for a fact that the next arc will be very Gingka/Ryuga and Kenta/Yu heavy. Like they drive the main plot for a while


End file.
